The Cinque Terre villages are – Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

We visited them all. And, they all had three things in common – steps, stairs and steep inclines. Oh, and a fourth – tourists (including us) 🙂

There are parts of the Cinque Terre track that are closed because of damage but there’s still plenty of accessible sections. If you’re not a hiker, the easiest way to get from village to village is by train, which we did when visiting Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. A quick few minutes or a long trek – take your pick.

The trains were easy to catch. Working out how to validate your ticket was a little tricky and we did catch the wrong train once, ending up at Riomaggiore instead of Manarola.

Monterosso al Mare

The biggest town on the Cinque Terre. We absolutely enjoyed a lunch here after our two hour trek. It was good to sit down!

View from the Cinque Terre trail while walking from Vernazza to Montorosso al Mare.

Vernazza

We stayed in the fishing village of Vernazza (read more about this village here), the second village along the trail.

You can see Montorosso al Mare from the hilltop of Vernazza. As you an see, it’s quite a walk to get there.

Busy streets, even in the shoulder season.

Corniglia

A quick five minute train trip to Corniglia. After alighting from the train, there’s 480 steps to get to this village, the only one of the Cinque Terre without sea access. It’s quite a climb, especially if you’re carrying luggage like some people, but you can catch the bus.

When you get there, it’s a charming little village filled with narrow pathways, lots of shops and the most fabulous views. There is, of course, a church or two.

Looking south towards Manarola.

Manarola

About a ten minute train trip from Vernazza. We loved this village, with its terraced houses and quite a steep main street with restaurants lining sides. They have used every inch of hillside and the buildings are seemingly stuck on the side of cliffs, crammed together for support.

Real estate is a premium. We hadn’t through about feasible cemetery sites before seeing this.

We found a tiny restaurant at the top of the hill “Cappun Magru”. We had to wait for a table, but so pleased we did. The first dish was fish balls in a light mustardy sauce (delicious), and we also chose a lamb and potato bake. Both dishes were so good, we swapped them back and forth, both of us undecided on our preference.

Looking north.

Riomaggiore

Another fabulous fishing village with a main street that snaked its way up the hill, also lined with shops and restaurants.

A budding entrepreneur.

Train tunnel art.

Pasta for lunch 🙂 Jeff thoroughly enjoyed his ravioli with lamb ragout, and my gnocchi with pesto was very good.

Our time on the Cinque Terre was coming to an end.

Next stop, Tuscany!

Catherine & Jeff xx